Rebecca Minkoff. Nikki microfiber snakeskin hobo, $398

Who made the rule that because you're a mom who have to carry one of those puffy pink or blue cotton diaper bags with the bunny rabbits?

You can just as easily remain the fly fashionista you have always been and put the diapers, wipes and random tiny toy in a fashion forward pocketbook.

Here are a few bags that will function as your favorite everyday tote and hold all the mom-necessities you can muster. Tip: Put anything and everything that could even remotely spill in a plastic sealing bag (ie: Ziploc).

The snakeskin "Nikki" Rebecca Minkoff bag (above) has a pretty hefty price, but you can use it year round. The lightweight Microfiber looks and feels, as the site says, as wild as a python.

Jessica Simpson Midtown Crossbody Bag, $49.95

Be on-trend and economical with this cross-body bag from Jessica Simpson's line of accessories. Available in black and beige it has more then enough pockets to for all that you caould possibly need.

Steve Madden Handbag, Candy Studs Satchel, on sale $65.99

If you are a new mom who is not willing to give up a little bit of the cutesy, here's a bag for you. The poppy pink color makes it eyecandy and the goldtone studs add a "check me out" edge.

Mel B's reality show "It's a Scary World" debuts on the Style Network this Sunday, September 5 @ 9PM ET/PT. While she hasn't really been on my radar, I have to admit, I'll be watching her show. Seems like a real show--as real as reality TV can get--tackling real issues. The clip below shows Mel in a dilemma as her ex-Eddie Murphy invites their daughter (Angel, 3 1/2, who Eddie once denied was his) to the premiere of his movie "Shrek."

You can follow MelB on Twitter @OfficialMelB, follow @TheJuiceBoxx

Faith Evans is still doing it! The mom of four is dropping her new album, Something About Faith, on October 5 and she just released the tracklisting. Guests on the new set include Keyshia Cole, Kelly Price and Mary Mary...sounds like some great harmonies will be going on there. She also tips her hat to her hip-hop roots with appearances by Redman, Raekwon (Shaolin shout-out) and Snoop Dogg. I don't know about you, but Snoop has been a downer on R&B tracks lately for me (see the Robin Thicke collabo "It's In The Morning")

Listen to the Raekwon track "Everyday Struggle." (shouts to ToyazWorld.com) Loves it!

1. Something About Faith Intro
2. Still
3. Way You Move feat. Snoop Dogg
4. Gone Already
5. Worth It
6. Real Things
7. Party feat. Redman
8. Right Here
9. Your Lover (Part I & Part II)
10. Can’t Stay Away feat. Keyshia Cole
11. Sunshine
12. Everyday Struggle feat. Raekwon
13. The Love In Me
14. Change feat. Mary Mary
15. Troubled World feat. Kelly Price & Jessica Reedy

At any rate, I'm looking forward to new music from Faith Evans.

And the latest on Faye Dunaway? She's a real, real redhead. Don't know who had it first, her or Rihanna. What do you think of the realy red?

Is it shallow of me to like Jennifer Garner (Affleck) a little bit more daughter Violet was spotted carrying a little black doll? The actress wrapped shooting the movie Arthur last week in New York City and took in a few sites, including the Guggenheim Museum.

Parents: Do you give your kids dolls of different colors/ethnicities?

(photo courtesy of TheYBF.Com)

It was a beautiful night Saturday on Governors Island in NY, when the Rock The Bells tour rolled through...

The look on Chris Rock's face as Lauryn Hill introduced her gang of kids...priceless.

There is life after baby. When we become mothers, our bodies and schedules change, but our perspectives on life, love, and work have to change too. It’s so important to renew and redefine yourself after motherhood, but where do you start? I met Karen Taylor Bass, PR expert, back when I was writing in the music industry and she was helping launch the careers of artists including D’Angelo and Jill Scott. Years down the line, after she became a mom to her bonus son, she decided to leave her high-profile job and focus on family.

After an unpredictable pregnancy and her daughter being born, Taylor Bass went through a bout of mild postpartum depression. Her lightbulb moment came when she began talking to many moms in the same predicament … moms looking to recapture self and redefine their purpose. She took some time to talk to us about her new mission, The Brand New Mommy.

MN: Why did you create The Brand New Mommy? What was the light bulb moment?

Karen Taylor Bass: This lady responded to something I wrote via email. She said she had really bad postpartum depression and has been on a quest to get healthy and was a full-time career woman and just freaked out. Everything, for me, went off like a lightbulb. After you have the baby, there’s no one who really talks about you. It’s all about the baby and rightfully so, but there comes a point when we new moms, have to think about ourselves. Most times in our community, moms aren’t allowed to vent and be needy because we are the ones taking care of everyone else.

MN: Did you talk to any moms about their experiences?

KTB: I did a series of focus groups before I launched the site. The first group was all South Asian women; they have so much support from their families and community, and it’s not just the typical family. White women had amazing support groups.

When I talked to Caribbean women they had less support, and black woman of all backgrounds and hues, they are a mess and didn’t want to be. A lot of it is internal, lack of support systems, and father issues that we never deal with. We [women] have a baby and think all those issues will go away, and sometimes we just become smaller.

MN: What makes you a Brand New Mommy?

KTB: My story is one of authenticity; I’ve lived through having to be on bed rest, having a c-section when I planned a vaginal birth, breast-feeding, postpartum depression. I didn’t deal with the fact that I was overwhelmed. We take care of everyone else’s crap but what about us? So I’m re-inventing myself in the process.

And I believe that, you won’t be who you were before, you’ll be better.

Read more at Madame Noire.

A new study says the average age at which puberty begins for girls is still on the decline, beginning around 7 or 8.

According to the paper in Pediatrics, almost 25% of African American girls have reached a stage of breast development marking the onset of puberty by age 7, as had almost 15% of Latina girls and more than 10% of white girls.

But why is this happening?

The study says obesity and environmental chemicals found in everyday items–like water bottles and makeup–mimic estrogen.

“It’s certainly throwing up a warning flag… I think we need to think about the stuff we’re exposing our bodies to and the bodies of our kids,” Dr. Frank Biro, lead author of the study and director of adolescent medicine at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, told the New York Times.

Obesity is cited as a major factor, because body fat produces estrogen, which in turn triggers breast development and menstruation. But he also attributes the puberty trends to endocrine-disrupting chemicals like Bisphenol-A (BPA), which is used to make the plastics in water bottles and baby bottles. In January 2010, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration raised concerns over the widespread use of BPA’s in consumer products, but so far little has been done to regulate its usage.

Other consequences of early puberty: increased risk of breast cancer (linked to an overexposure of estrogen), depression, youth violence.

Possibly the biggest repercussion of our girls going through puberty at such a young age is the emotional toll it can take, as noted in the Times article:

“Socially and emotionally, life can be difficult for a girl who has a child’s mind in a woman’s body and is not ready to deal with sexual advances from men and boys, or cope with her own hormone-spiked emotions and sexual impulses.”

Are you concerned about your daughter going through early puberty?



Halle looks stunning on the cover sporting a pageboy bob, and inside the magazine she goes on record about her love life and how life as a mom has changed her forever.

 She also says she was well aware of what it means to be on this specific issue of Vogue: “What (being on the cover of the September Vogue) means for a woman of color and what that means in the fashion world, what that means to pop culture, there was no way I could say, ‘No, I’m not going to be on the biggest issue of the year.’ ”

Why she thinks ‘nature has got it all wrong’: “When you are younger, it should be harder to get pregnant, and as you get older, it should be easier. When you are so ready, you can’t do it to save your life. And when you are 21, you are so not ready, but you are ripe as could be. The eggs should become more developed the older you get, not die slowly from the day you’re born. That’s one thing God got wrong.”

On asking Nahla to say Berry’s name in case she ever got lost: “She thought about it for a second, and finally she said, ‘Halle Blueberries!’ Blueberries are her favorite fruit. … I’m just glad she didn’t say ‘Halle Blackberry.’ ”

On the biggest misconception people have about her: “That I am this brooding, twisted, lovesick person who just can’t get it right in life. Every story about me is so heavy and dramatic. That’s not how I do life. But that’s the impression people have, and that’s what keeps getting reiterated. As if I’m still stuck in all the muck of the past. And I am so not.”



I recently saw this playlist by DJ Cassidy (big time DJ who most notibly spun at the President Obama inaugural ball) and I have to agree that these would be perfect while sitting by the pool, at a cookout, or entertaining friends at home...

1. “Saturday In The Park” by Chicago
2. “Roller Skating Jam Named ‘Saturdays’” by De La Soul
3. “Club Tropicana” by Wham
4. “All Night Long” by Lionel Richie
5. “Rhythm Of The Night” by Debarge
6. “Unconditional Love” by Donna Summer featuring Musical Youth
7. “Blame It On The Boogie” by The Jacksons
8. “All This Love” by The Similou
9. “Master Blaster Jammin’” by Stevie Wonder
10. “My Boo” by Ghost Town DJ’s

On this day, the photogs took gorgeous pictures of Halle Berry and daughter Nahla at Griffith park in L.A. recently. She saw the photogs and ignored them.

Then, sometimes, Halle gets really mad, rightfully so, I'd say.